Pain Detection

Pain is a severe and growing problem on both the national and global levels. Over 100 million Americans suffer from acute or chronic pain with three to five percent of the global population suffering from neuropathic pain. Current diagnostic procedures do not objectively detect pain but rather depend on patients’ subjective self-reports. Due to the seriousness of pain affliction and the gaps in objective detection, BSF is interested in objectively diagnosing pain and its intensity so to improve pain medication and treatment methodologies.

What are the neurological substrates of pain? Do we all perceive pain similarly and if so, what facilitates subjective equality? How do the mechanisms of acute pain differ from those of chronic pain? Through applied research, BSF seeks to better understand these questions and address whether we can objectively quantify pain and its intensity. Coupled with neural oscillation and computational framework research, BSF is investigating the objective biomarkers of pain and their neurophysiological correlates.